Actor

1922-12-18 · Toronto, Ontario, Canada · Male

36 series in the catalog

Larry D. Mann (18 December 1922 – 6 January 2014) was an Canadian actor and broadcaster. He is best known as "The Boss" in a series of Bell Canada television commercials in the 1980s and voicing Yukon Cornelius in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Life and career

Larry D. Mann was born in Toronto, Ontario, on 18 December 1922. Before his acting career, he was a disc jockey on 1050 CHUM radio in Toronto in 1949, and attended school there at Vaughan Road Academy.

Mann voiced the character of Yukon Cornelius in the classic Rankin-Bass Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He also provided voices for characters in several other Rankin-Bass television series and specials.

Mann's film career spanned four decades. He came to the attention of CBC audiences in 1953 when he kidded around with the puppet Uncle Chichimus on the show Let's See. According to a CBC Archives article, Mann got the job when his friend, actor Don Harron, pointed him out to producer Norman Jewison. Mann also appeared in more than 20 movies, including In the Heat of the Night, Bullitt, and The Sting.

Mann's many television credits include Get Smart; Gunsmoke; The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; Bewitched; Hogan's Heroes; Honey West; The Green Hornet; Green Acres; Columbo; Quincy, M.E. and Hill Street Blues. He also played the title role in a series of Bell Canada TV commercials called "The Boss" for ten years beginning in 1981.

His last role was on Homefront in 1991.

His brother Paul Mann was an actor and drama instructor, who appeared in the films America America and Fiddler on the Roof. His son, Danny Mann, also entered the entertainment industry as a comedy writer and voice actor.

Death

Mann died of natural causes at age 91 on 6 January 2014 in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Mann was born Leibish Libman in Toronto, Ontario. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, he was a veteran of World War II, serving four years in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). His military service included participation in the Battle of Normandy as well as the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

On September 1, 1946, Mann married Gloria Kochberg. The couple remained married for 67 years until his death in January 2014, and together they had four children. One of their sons, Daniel "Danny" (born 1951) is a comedian, voice actor, and writer. Danny initially established his career as a comedy writer, writing for The David Steinberg Show and Thicke of the Night before working as a voice actor, and is best known for voicing Ferdinand the indian runner duck in Babe and its sequel Babe: Pig in the City.

Mann's older brother, Paul Mann (1913–1985), was a distinguished theatre and film actor and drama instructor who founded Paul Mann's Actors Workshop in New York. Paul also appeared as a character actor in prominent feature films such as America America and the 1971 cinematic adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof.